Where Eye's Didn't Look
by British-BrownEyed-Beauty
Summary: What happened in the Gyffindor common room before Harry arrived on the night of the 4th yr ball...not fluffy at first but gets like that in the 2nd chapter, plz R & R
1. One Over On You

(( A/N: Hi! This is my first EVER fanfic, not to mention my first R/H, and I'm kinda proud of it! It's about what happened in the common room before Harry arrived on the night of the Yule Ball in 4th Year. Enjoy, and please review! I'll give a present to my first reviewer!))  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters in the story belong to J.K.Rowling and I use a lot of dialogue from the books in the middle which is hers to, k? K. Glad that's settled. ;)  
  
Throwing herself violently into an armchair, Hermione Granger stared at the common room fire with fierce determination. Somehow, refusing to take her eyes off the flames made ignoring Ron Weasley's comments easier. But not easy enough to disregard completely.  
  
~ Stupid git, why would I do that to Harry? Fraternising with the enemy – honestly...Harry is my friend, I would never set out to hurt him, or Ron. Oh why is EVERYTHING always my fault? ~  
  
While she was dwelling upon this thought, a chilled breeze swept quickly through the room as the portrait hurled itself open. Instinctively, Hermione turned her head to see who entered and immediately regretted it. It would be much harder to ignore his comments if he was standing right there.  
  
"Oh, it's you."  
  
"Why, expectin' someone else, HERM-OWN-NINNY?" Ron spat venomously.  
  
"Nice to see you've sunk to your normal levels of immaturity, Ron."  
  
Pulling herself to full height, Hermione was satisfied to see she had rendered him to silence, simply standing there with his mouth hanging open. Suppressing a slight smile, she turned towards the door of the girl's dormitory, content to have had the last word.  
  
"Well you're sinking pretty low yourself tonight – Merlin's beard, Krum? You hate him! You only went with him to get one over on me!"  
  
Hermione stared.  
  
"...And Harry." He added as an afterthought. Startled at Ron's lack of tact and complete naivety, she glared at him in complete disbelief for a few moments before pulling herself together long enough to speak another sentence.  
  
"Ron, the reason I went with him was because he was nice to me, and realised I was more than just some big-haired girl who thinks too much – unlike some people – and he liked my company! And you must be pretty conceited to think the only reason I went with him was because of you!"  
  
Breathing heavily, Hermione glowered at him, unaware that her face had turned the same unattractive shade of puce as Ron's, and her hair was now cascading from the bun to her shoulders.  
  
"But you can do so much better than that prat! Anyone can do better than that that prat – and I don't think you're a big-haired girl who thinks too much – and anyway, that's not what I meant!"  
  
"What did you mean then?" Their voices had now grown to bellows.  
  
"I meant you shouldn't have gone with KRUM!"  
  
"Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is, don't you?" yelled Hermione.  
  
The portrait door swung open again to reveal a very bemused looking Harry. His face however changed swiftly to comprehension as he realised why Ron and Hermione were standing 10 feet apart, faces bright scarlet. Neither of them appeared to notice his presence immediately, and if they did they chose to ignore it. Following their lead, Harry chose not to get involved.  
  
"Oh yeah? What's that?"  
  
"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!" And with that, Hermione spun on her heel and stalked out of the room towards the girls' staircase, leaving silence in her wake.  
  
It was at that point Ron decided to acknowledge Harry and spluttered at him:  
  
"Well, well – that just proves – completely missed the point – "  
  
Then, thunderstruck look still present, Ron sank down onto the armchair Hermione had previously been sitting on, as Harry walked to bed wordlessly. Even if Ron was unaware, he, Harry, knew Hermione had got it right first time, and Ron was far too ashamed to admit it.  
  
(( A/N: So Whaddya think? If I get even reviews ( or even if I don't actually) I'm gonna write a second chapter later on that night where R/H meet agin and it reveals why Harry thought there was an unspoken agreement the next morning....intrigued? No, I wouldn't be either. Anyay, Flames welcome, plz R & R! and remember, u get a present)) 


	2. Treat Me Like I'm Fragile

((A/N: Hello! I'm amazed, I got a review about 10 minutes after I posted, and it was lovely! Thank u Audrey! And your present is a biscuit: ( : : ) and a big kiss: X! Not much, but It's something! Well you said you were intrigued, and I'm bored so I think I'll update this and then maybe start a new one. Hope you guys enjoy, and plz R & R, it makes my day...;) Oh and by the way, didn't mention this last chapter – thoughts are in ~ ~'s ))  
  
Disclaimer: I don't know why I bother to do this because you all know that J.K herself isn't a 14yr. old English chick, but still, nothing's mine.  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
Chapter 2: Treat Me Like I'm Fragile  
  
It was about an hour later that Hermione heard Lavender and Parvati come to bed, giggling mischievously. She waited for another quarter of an hour, feigning sleep, before she risked escaping the room – It was starting to feel as if the walls were closing in. She hated confrontation, especially with Ron. Rising from her bed, she glanced in the direction of the other Gryffindor girls before exiting the dormitory.  
  
Descending the stairway, Hermione was amazed to hear no sound coming from the common room.  
  
~ They must have all gone to bed. Bit surprising the twins aren't making a racket – But then, they were dancing particularly energetically, I expect it tired them out...~  
  
Strolling aimlessly out of the door marked 'GIRLS' DORMITORIES', Hermione pressed it firmly shut, then swivelled round, considering throwing herself down on the armchair once more. But it would be slightly more difficult this time – seeing as the chair was already in use. By a tall, freckled, red head who was looking at her with a mixture of repulsion and regret plastered on his face.  
  
Immediately, she turned to walk back out of the door, but there really wasn't any point. She could go upstairs and dwell upon the night's events or she could sort it out now and hopefully prevent any hard feelings the next morning.  
  
"Why aren't you in bed?"  
  
"Oh, do we care now?" Ron burst out savagely.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous. I was just asking, Ron."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
Realising this would probably be the most sensible answer she would get out of him for a while, Hermione resigned herself to sitting cautiously on the sofa nearest him. They sat in silence for a while, staring at the fire and lost in their own thoughts before Ron said something.  
  
"I don't think you're bushy-haired girl who thinks too much, I was just- "  
  
"Big-haired girl, Ron"  
  
"Yeah, that too. But what I mean is, well, erm....I don't really know what I mean"  
  
Chuckling softly, Hermione stopped looking at the fire and turned to Ron. Suddenly she felt a wave of remorse over the things she had said to him earlier, and felt stupidly ashamed. As well as stupidly embarrassed over the thing she had said just before she left.  
  
~ Oh, no...I didn't mean that, he wasn't jealous of Viktor...he was just looking out for Harry and I. Oh, I'm so brainless sometimes...~  
  
"Don't worry. I know what you mean." Hermione whispered.  
  
More silent spent moments passed with both of them searching for something apologetic to say that wasn't 'Sorry'. Stubbornness still overrode common sense. The warmth was starting to make Hermione feel slightly giddy, and she stared a her hands for a while before speaking again.  
  
"You know I care more about you than I do Viktor, don't you?"  
  
Though barely daring to withdraw her gaze from her hands, she still noticed Ron's ears go one shade too red and a small, triumphant smile on his lips. Controlling himself, he looked down at her and whispered:  
  
"Yeah. 'Course I do."  
  
With that, the remorse-filled air seemed clear once more, and it was almost as though everything was back to normal again. Just friends, sat in their common room, doing nothing. But the silence was growing uncomfortable.  
  
"So. Did you dance with anyone other than...him, at the ball?"  
  
Embarrassed, Hermione looked away.  
  
"No Ron. I Didn't. I was thinking about other things."  
  
"Ah, Can't be having that now, can we?" Hermione heard, rather than saw, a lop-sided grin on his face. Then, while staring fixedly at her own hands, she saw another pair stretched out before her. Looking up, she started to chuckle.  
  
~ What on EARTH is he doing! ~  
  
"Hermione? May I have this dance?"  
  
**************************************************************************** ******  
  
Stupidly, she said the first thing which crept into her head.  
  
"There's no music."  
  
"Don't be stupid, just dance with me!"  
  
So, giving in to him, Hermione placed her hands in his and allowed him to hold her closely. Swaying slowly in front of the fireplace, warm and comfortable and nothing except each other in the room. It was starting to unnerve her...  
  
After a while, Ron spoke.  
  
"Am I doing this right? I've never done it before..."  
  
"It's easy...just treat me like I'm fragile..."  
  
~ This is a bit strange....OK, it's a lot strange. I'm dancing with Ron...and why do I want to kiss him? This is very un-Hermione-ish ~  
  
And through his immaturity and naivety, he saw through her and read her mind....  
  
....5 minutes later, Hermione wandered back up her stairs agreeing to herself that Harry shouldn't know what just happened.....And wishing she had better sticking lip gloss.......  
  
(( A/N: It's done! Yay! Well...I liked it. Sorry, I know I use LOADS of dialogue, can't help it. By the way, If anyone wants a beta reader, I'm available and think it would be quite a nice thing to do for people. Anyway review! BrownEyez xxx)) 


End file.
